| Langar | |
Langar Hall |
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Langar
Langar shown within Nottinghamshire |
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| Population | 898 (2001 census, including Barnstone) |
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| OS grid reference | SK7234 |
| Parish | Langar cum Barnstone |
| District | Rushcliffe |
| Shire county | Nottinghamshire |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | NG13 9xx |
| Dialling code | 01949 |
| Police | Nottinghamshire |
| Fire | Nottinghamshire |
| Ambulance | East Midlands |
| EU Parliament | East Midlands |
| UK Parliament | Rushcliffe |
| List of places: UK • England • Nottinghamshire | |
Langar is a small village about four miles south of Bingham in Nottinghamshire and the Vale of Belvoir.
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To the south of the parish of Langar cum Barnstone, on Langar Airfield, it borders Clawson, Hose and Harby, the district of Melton and Leicestershire. At Hose Lane it meets Colston Bassett. It passes northwards, crossing Harby Lane, where it follows a tributary of the River Smite. At Langar Lane Bridge, it briefly meets Cropwell Bishop, for around 300 metres, then borders the parish of Wiverton Hall, following the start of the River Smite, and briefly following Bingham Road at Wiverton Smite Bridge. It passes on the western edge of Northfield Farm, then the east side of Smite Hill Farm (outside the parish). Near the point where the former railway crossed the River Smite, it meets Whatton-in-the-Vale. It meets Granby at Granby Lane, which it follows and the River Whipling, east of Barnstone (part of the parish). The boundary follows southwards, to the east of the former Bingham to Melton railway, and south of Granby Gap woods (outside the parish) it meets Leicestershire.
At the 2001, the civil parish had 378 households. There is no village shop, although Cropwell Bishop is nearby.
One of the first recorded landowners was Gerard de Rodes in the 12th century. The de Rodes family served as soldiers for King John who visited Langar in 1215. The estate then passed to the Tibetots in the 13th century. Following the marriage of Margaret Tibetot to Roger Scrope, 2nd Baron Scrope of Bolton[1] in 1373, the estate passed to the Scrope family.
The last Lord Scrope who was associated with Langar was Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland. Emanuel's estate was inhertited by Annabella, his illegitimate daughter. In 1677, Annabella married the Gloucestershire politician, John Howe. According to Thoroton, Langar Hall and nearly the whole parish had lately become the estate of Mr Howe.
A famous descendant of the Howe's was Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, famous for his victory in the sea battle known as "The Glorious First of June", celebrated every year at Langar Hall. Admiral Howe died in 1799 and was buried in Langar Church.
Another famous son of Langar was the author Samuel Butler whose father, Thomas, was rector of Langar-cum-Barnstone.[2]
The church of St Andrew's is often called the 'Cathedral of the Vale' due to its large size for such a small village. This may be in part due to its importance as a place of pilgrimage in Saxon times.[3]
The village has lent its name to the Second World War airfield, RAF Langar, which is on the Nottinghamshire/Leicestershire boundary. The airfield was used for bombing operations over Germany by RAF Bomber Command. There is a war memorial at the airfield. 207 Sqn were based there.
Post-war use was by the Royal Canadian Air Force for many years. The airfield is still there, and is now famously the base of British Parachute Schools since 1977.
There is the Lafarge Barnstone cement works south of Barnstone[4], formerly owned by Blue Circle Industries, who were bought by Lafarge in 2001. It produces quick-setting cement, by the addition of calcium sulphate, which produces the Microcem brand[5], known as a special cement[6]. Naturescape Wildflower Farm is north of the airfield.
This is the local school of Langar. [7] The headteacher of the school is named Brian Hillary, and educates about 80 pupils. There are seven years at the school: Reception, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, and Year 6. They later go to secondary schools, the most popular being the comprehensive Toot Hill School in Bingham.
Adjacent to the church is Langar Hall, once the home of Earl Howe. The present building was constructed in 1837 and was later bought by Annie Bayley, wife of Thomas Bayley, the former MP for Chesterfield. It is now a restaurant and hotel run by their great granddaughter, Imogen. It is a popular venue for wedding receptions.
It is known from pieces of evidence recovered from various places around the Vale of Belvoir that in the 17th century Robert Earnstock committed a series of robberies from numerous places in the area. We know from letters that were later discovered he was raising money to travel to his wife-to-be who lived somewhere to the north of England. Earnstock kept the treasure hidden away until he had raised a small fortune, as he neared his goal Earnstock was caught and hanged for his offences. Earnstock's treasure was never found and is believed to be buried somewhere around the outskirts of the village. If found now the rarity of the items would make them priceless and many historians dream one day to find it.
The Unicorn's Head public house was built in 1717 and had its own brewhouse which can still be identified by its unusual three tier chimney to the south of the building. The public house was originally known as The Feathers. The name was taken from the plume of feathers in the Howe family crest. The current name was adopted following the purchase of the estate in 1799 (following Admiral Howe's death) by John Wright the Nottingham banker and one of the founders of the Butterley Company; he had a unicorn's head as his family crest. The Unicorn's Head was a coaching inn in the 19th century and the original stables can still be seen around the back of the building.
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